RoboCop screenwriter Ed Neumeier revealed that he is working with MGM to develop a prequel to the Paul Verhoeven 1987 science-fiction classic. The project will focus on the rise of Omni Consumer Products and the company's Vice President, Dick Jones, the villain of the original film.
Three years before transporting audiences to Mars in the science fiction film Total Recall, director Paul Verhoeven took them to a dystopian future in which a crime-ridden Detroit is on verge of economic collapse in RoboCop. The film centered on police officer Alex Murphy's struggle to reassert his humanity after being brutally murdered by a gang of criminals and brought back to life as a cyborg law enforcer called RoboCop under a program run by Omni Consumer Products. The central villain of the film was Dick Jones, the Senior Vice President of Omni Consumer Products, who preferred his own Enforcement Droid Series 209 project over the cyborg program and employed crime boss Clarence Boddicker to eliminate any competition.
Released in 1987, RoboCop was praised for its satirical exploration of themes such a media influence, gentrification, privatization, and human nature. During an interview with Moviehole, Neumeier discussed the potential for a RoboCop prequel to further explore those concepts, saying, "there’s the idea of doing things about business and law enforcement in the city of Detroit a minute-and-a-half in the future, it would be a way to do all sorts of stories about business and tech, Silicon Valley, corporations, snakes in suits, cops, all that. It’s a wonderfully rich tapestry." While Dick Jones was a ruthless villain in the original RoboCop, Neumeier indicated the prequel series will introduce viewers to the character before his descent into amorality. "It’s fun to work with a younger version of the Dick Jones we meet in RoboCop. He’s an actualized corporate predator [in the move] but nobody necessarily starts out being the bad guy. So it’s going to be about the evolution of Richard Jones to Dick Jones, the story of OCP and how the world moves into the future, how the corporate world behaves," Neumeier explained.
While Neumeier stated that he is working on the project with writers Dave Parkin and Rob Gibb, he also noted that MGM has not given the series the official greenlight at this time. "With any luck, if MGM is willing, if we can find the partners, if we can get this pilot made, if we can convince a bunch of people – it’s amazing how many people you have to convince – if that all works out maybe we’ll get a TV show up," he said of the prequel series' prospects. Should the project move forward, Neumeier expressed his confidence in the writers' ability to create a compelling story for Jones even without Ronny Cox, who portrayed the character in the original film, saying, "he’s great, and to actually know where you’re going with this, to know that’s who he becomes is fun for the writers to work with. They’ve come up with a whole back story I never did."
Neumeier is also producing a feature film sequel to the original film titled RoboCop Returns. The sequel was originally going to be helmed by District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, but the filmmaker announced he was off the project un August 2019 and was replaced by Abe Forsythe months later.
Of course, the RoboCop sequels and the 2014 reboot starring Joel Kinnaman are not nearly as beloved as the original film. So, it would be understandable if audiences aren't enthusiastic about a prequel without the central character of the franchise.
RoboCop is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source:Â Movieholen.net